Platform or gangway for freight-cars.



H. M. TAYLOR. PLATFORM 0R GANGWAY FOR FREIGHT 0125.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 4, 1911.

1,006,025. Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

E ii-12ml.

HARRY M. TAYLOR, OF COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.

PLATFORM OR GANGWAY FOR FREIGHT-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

Application filed March 4, 1911. Serial No. 612,338.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY M. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbia, in the county of Richland and State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Platforms or Gangways for Freight-Cars, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in freight cars and more par ticularly to a gangway or platform therefor, and my object is to provide a gangway or platform which is capable of sliding adjustment into and out of effective position.

A further object of the invention resides in providing means for retaining said platform in its inoperative position and out of contact with the contents of the car.

A further object is to provide a groove in the floor of the car for retaining a rod,

upon which said platform is slidably mounted.

With these and other objects in View my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through a car showing my improved running board in effective position; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through a car as seen on line 22, Fig. 1 showing the board held in reserved or retained position; and Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section showing a slightly modified form of board.

In carrying out my invention I shall refer to the drawings in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which 1 indicates a freight car of the usual or any preferred form, and 2, a platform at a station or the like, upon which the contents of said car are adapted to be placed. It is a well known fact that difiiculty has been experienced in unloading the contents of such freight cars to a platform, in view of the difference in height between the two, and serious injuries have occurred in performing the duties necessary to. such unloading, and it is to aid in such unloading and to lessen the danger of such injuries that I provide my improved running board. To this end I provide the floor 3 of the car with an elongated groove or channel l extending completely across the doorway and to some distance beyond one side thereof. This channel is provided with a metal lining, and has mounted therein and spaced throughout the length of the same the roller bearings 5, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. Also mounted in said groove 4 and extending the full length thereof is a rod 6, the ends of which are bent downwardly and extend completely through the floor of said car, the lower ends of said rod being threaded to receive the nuts 7, thereby securing the same in position. A gangway 8 of any preferred size is provided on its inner end with a plate 9 which is removably secured thereto, said plate being provided with a longitudinal socket 10 to receive therethrough said rod 6. Said gangway will, of course, not be of a greater width than the width of the doorway of the car and when properly positioned will be adapted to slide easily upon said rod, in view of the roller bearings within said grooves, which will contact with the outer face of the socket portion of said plate 9. The gangway 8 is hingedly secured on said rod 6 and when disposed in operative position, is adapted to have the outer or free end thereof rest upon said platform 2, but the groove 4 is not at the extreme outer edge of the floor 3 in view of its position beyond the wall of the car and in order to provide for the disposing of the gangway 8 at such an angle as to rest upon the platform 2, the plate 9 is bent somewhat as shown at 11. In this manner, each time the gangway is disposed in extended position, the free end thereof is adapted to rest upon the platform,

and no weight placed thereon will affect the' hinging portion of the same. As stated, the groove 4 and the rod 6 mounted therein extend to one side of the doorway of the car, that side being opposite the side upon which the door for the car slides.

When the car has been totally loaded, or unloaded, as the case may be, and there is no more use for the gangway, the same may be swung upon its hinges and slidably moved along the rod 6 within the car 1 to rest upon the inner face of the wall thereof. As the car is often loaded with such freight as would do considerable damage to the gangway when in its inoperative position, I provide protecting means therefor, which consist of a plurality of spaced bars 12 having the ends thereof bent at right angles to the general trend and secured to the inner wall of the car. As the gangway 8 is then moved to its position within the car, the same may enter between said bars 12 and the inner wall of the car, and thus afford protection from heavy articles of freight which would ordinarily crush or do considerable damage to said board. Said gangway 8 is also provided adjacent one of its side edges with a finger slot 13, whereby the same may be easily grasped and moved to its various positions from within the car.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a slight modification wherein the platform 2 is on a substantial level with the floor of the car, and in this instance it is not necessary to provide a separate plate to form a connection between the gangway and the rod. The gangway S is made in one piece, provided at one end with a socket 10 similar to the socket 10 of the other form, and through which extends the rod 6, whereby said gangway is slidably and hingedly mounted thereon. As the platform 2 is on a level with the floor of the car, as stated, the gangway may be extended to rest upon the same without being provided with a bend therein as in the other form, but otherwise, the device is exactly the same.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a gangway for a freight car which is of such simple construction as to be extremely inexpensive to manufacture and apply to cars of this type, and it will be extremely effective in operation. Furthermore it will be seen that by providing a gangway of this character which is adapted to slide within the car on the side opposite that carrying the door, the same will be practically no obstruction to the door or any other portion of the car. It will still further be seen that by providing protecting bars on the inner face of the wall of the car, the gangway will be out of danger of damage from the contents of said car when loaded. It will still further be seen that by providing the groove within the floor of the car and hinging the gangway to a rod carried therein, the board, when moved to its operative position, will be almost flush with the floor of the car, and, when in its inoperative position, the rod will form no obstruction on said floor.

. Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1'. In a device of the character described,

the combination with a car, the floor of which is provided with a groove, said groove extending across the doorway of said car and to one side thereof in close proximity to the wall of said car; of a rod mounted in said groove, and a platform hinged to and slidably mounted thereon.

2. The combination with a car having a doorway therein, the floor of said car being provided with a groove extending across said doorway and a short distance to one side thereof, said groove being disposed adjacent one wall of said car; of a rod in said groove, a platform hinged to and slidably mounted on said rod, and means on the inner face of the wall of said car to protect said platform when in its inoperative position.

3. The combination with a car having a doorway therein, the floor of said. car being provided with a groove extending across said doorway and to one side thereof, and bearing means mounted within said groove; of a rod also mounted in said groove above the bearing means, a gangway hinged to and slidably mounted on said rod, and means on the inner face of the wall of said car to protect said gangway when in its in operative position.

i. The combination with a car having a doorway therein, the floor of said car being provided with a groove extending across said doorway and to one side thereof; of a rod mounted in said groove, a gangway hinged to and slidably mounted on said rod, and a plurality of bars mounted on the inner face of the wall of said car, said bars being spaced therefrom to receive said gangway when in its inoperative position and protect the same from the contents of the car.

5. The combination with a car having a doorway therein, the floor of said car being provided with a groove extending across In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. HARRY M. TAYLOR, Witnesses:

JAMES E. REESE, J. P. JAcxsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

